The Legatum Fellowship is a competitive program designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs gain a world class education at MIT, as well as extensive mentor and community support, in order maximize their likelihood of success as principled, impactful leaders in emerging markets. Moreover, each year they build a cohort 20-25 students dedicated to building and scaling ventures in the developing world and provide them with tuition, travel, and prototyping support, as well as access to mentors, special seminars, and other cross-campus resources.

Benefits

• Each Fellow receives funding that can be used to support their school tuition and stipend.
• Also, Students in their graduating year can access up to $50,000 for tuition; other students can access up to $25,000 with the opportunity for follow on funding in subsequent years.
• Fellows also receive grants to support travel to emerging markets during the summer and winter breaks in order to build professional relationships, conduct primary market research, test prototypes, or run pilot studies.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the Fellowship, applicants must either be:

• A current MIT Student who will still be enrolled for the year-long duration of the fellowship
• Or, Admitted to begin a (full-time) degree program at MIT in the fall semester of the coming academic year

Expectations

Furthermore, Legatum Fellows are expected to be fully engaged participants in the Legatum Center community. Expectations include:

• Completion of a for-credit management seminar that focuses specifically on the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs in the developing world
• Also, Completion of one additional MIT course related to entrepreneurial leadership development
• At least one trip to the intended country of implementation to either conduct primary market research, test a prototype, or pilot the business model
• Also, Participation in peer-to-peer training sessions
• Demonstrated willingness to learn and adapt the venture as necessary
• Participation in pitch events at the end of each semester
• Also, Regular check-in meetings with the Legatum Center staff
• Participation in MIT’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through student-organized clubs and conferences
• Commitment to being an entrepreneurial leader in a developing country post-graduation.